Similar sculptures? No, just pure coincidence

Aug 21 2007 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

WIRRAL last night defended its plans to build a controversial sculpture after it turned out to bear what officers admitted was “a remarkable resemblance” to a sculpture in small Irish seaside town.

The Magic Boat, a massive iconic piece of art planned for the roundabout at the junction of the A41 and the M53, is very like To The Skellig which was created in 1995 in the parish of Caherciveen in County Kerry.

The bronze statue, which is 10ft long and about 12ft high, is well-known to tourists and represents four monks sailing to a monastery off the Irish coast..

The Magic Boat’s designers have described the similarity as an “extraordinary coincidence”.

The 60m high £300,000 sculpture for Wirral was given the go-ahead by the borough council’s cabinet last week and they say it is expected to be in place early in 2008 as a welcome for Capital of Culture visitors.

A spokesperson for Wirral council said: “We are aware of similarities between the proposed Magic Boat structure and the Monks in the Boat in Ireland. However, the designers reassure us that any similarities are completely coincidental.

“We would also point out that the iconography of the two structures is completely different, the Irish structure conveying a religious connotation whereas the structure in Wirral conveys the maritime and Viking heritage of the borough.”

Fr William Crean, of Caherciveen Parish, said the Irish artwork was well-known in the area and represents monks visiting Skellig Michael.

He said he was surprised to hear of a similar sculpture because of the monastic link of the County Kerry art.

The sculpture is often known as “the monks in a boat” – one of which is said to be Saint Brendan, patron saint of Kerry – and was designed by Irish artist Eamon Doherty.

Mark Renn, from designers Renn and Thacker, who were commissioned to design the Wirral sculpture, added: “It is an extraordinary coincidence. We've certainly never seen this sculpture before. I have since contacted the artist in Ireland who has wished us well with our design.”

Mr Renn said: “We thought about Wirral’s ship-building heritage and about how to make an impact.”

liammurphy